Improvement in machines for obtaining printing-surfaces for reading-matter



2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

G.- P. DRUMMOND. Machine for Obtaining Printing Surfaces for Reading-- Matter.

Patented Dec. i8, 187? Invenlor MM NJETERSv PHOTO-LITHOGRAPHEn, WASHINGTON, u (I lowing specification,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE P. DRUMMOND, OF OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 198,238,

dated December 18, 1877; application filed December 27, 1876.

OAsE

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, GEORGE PRINGLE DRUMMOND, of the city of Ottawa, in the county of Carleton, in the Province of Ontario and Dominion of Canada, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Mechanism for Employmentin the Art of Producing Print ing-Surfaces, which is fully set forth in the folreference being had to the accompanying drawings, in all of which like figures or letters of reference indicate like parts.

My invention relates to the production of the various sizes of letter-press, and also displayed and fancy printing, or reading-matter of any printed kind, in large or small lettering, complete and justified, without the aid of fonts of type or type-setting, and in a more rapid manner than now accomplished by these .means to prepare metal or other surfaces or lithographic stones for the press, from which surfaces newspapers, (letter-press or advertisement,) book, and other reading-matter may be printed.

The manner in which this is accomplished is fully set forth and claimed in another application of mine filed cotemporaneously with this, designated as Case 1, and hence need not be described in this, the special construction and arrangement of the mechanism hereinafter described, and its operation in relation to the art named, alone constituting the subject-matter of the present application. In this mechanism is a number of reels containing ribboned paper, each piece of which is printed throughout its extent with some letter of the alphabet, and all in sufficient number and variety to make up any reading-matter which may be required. Each ribbon of paper is operated by its distinctive key, and as each and every letter of any word is required, the corresponding keys depressed in rotation bring forward these letters under a pair of shears, which cuts them off and attaches them in an overlapping order by any adhesive substance to an elastic band. The letters are printed upon the ribbons a short space apart, and when attached to the elastic band the cut-off pieces overlap each other on this space only. The reading-matter attached to this band, as it issues from the composing-machine, is first justified by stretching or straining to suitable lengths of lines, and then removed from the band and deposited, line by line or lines, in succession, on the surface of a sheet of paper by means of a raising and repeating clamping-press, which is to form the subject of another application, and either in this manner or directly from the composing-machine is to be afterward treated, in part or in whole, as shown and described in the application filed cotemporaneously with this, before referred to. The overlapping manner in which the letters are attached to the band readily admits of stretching the band without exposing the open joints.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 is a plan View of my improved composing and attaching machine. a a a are the fingering-keys. b b b are several of the paper-channels,showing the courses by which the paper ribbons are conductedtoward the shears d. e is the feed-wheel. w is the elastic band, coated with an adhesive substance. o c o are the paper ribbons, printed with the letters of the alphabet, &c., entering the machine from reels placed in convenient positions behind the machine. These paper ribbons pass through the paperclips t, (seen in Fig. 2,) and into the paper-channels b b b, only a few of which, to prevent overcrowding in the drawing, are shown. These all end in a point close to the shears d. j is a wheel, around which the elastic band passes, and which is moved forward by the feed-wheel 0 each time a letter is cut off from the paper ribbons and attached to the elastic band. This feed-wheel e, which is underneath the table of the machine, is operated by the key-levers z z z striking the cross-bar t, which in turn moves the connectingrod k, the lever l, and its attached friction-cam or knee-joint n. In order to show this machinery more effectually, the table 3/ is broken out on both sides of the shears d, and the connections between the keys at a a and the endings of their levers or arms z z z are not drawn. 3 3 3 is a range of setscrews in the feed cross-bar z, for adjusting the various lengths of feed required by each letter. The keys a a a are suflicient in number to embrace small letters, capitals, figures, punctuation-points, and various abbreviations necessary for the composition of any reading-matter. The cut-off bar h, which underlies all the keys, is attached to the shears d by contrivances more fully shown in Figs. 8 and 9, so that any key, in its first stage of depression, brings forward a letter and attaches it to the elastic band, and, further depressed, cuts off that attached letter by striking the cross-bar h,- and on the back movement of the key-that is, the release of itthe feeding mechanism moves the elastic band ahead to receive the next letter. 4 is the front folding leaf or cover over the fingeringkeys.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the machine, and shows one of its contained fingering-keys, a, to which are attached the various contrivances, required for carrying forward the paper ribbon. The connecting-wires o 0 join the key-lever z with the clip-lever r. o is the printed paper ribbon, passed through the clipframe 5, with the pointer 21 of the clip t resting through one of the range of holes punched in the paper ribbon. In its forward motion the clip t passes under the spring a; but in its backwardmotion it passes over it, which raises the pointer 21 out of the paper and drops it into the next succeeding hole. h is the crossbar underlying all the keys, which is attached to the shears d by the connecting-wire g and the lever 17, so that a depression on any of the keys first brings forward the paper ribbon, and then cuts off the letter therefrom. i is the cross feed bar, which contains the adjusting set-screws 3 3 3, Fig. 1. k is the connecting-rod. e is the feed-wheel, and w is the elastic band. p is the cut-off spring, hereinafter explained. 6 is the key-lever back-rest. m m are the clip-lever stops, and 14 14* are ranges of adjusting set-screws for the clipframes. 22 is the key-lever shaft. 3 is the table of the machine. 8 and 9 are cross-connections in the machine-frame, which have a series of parallel grooves made thereon, into which slide all the paper-clip frames 5. s is a spring, to produce the back motion of the levers r and the fingering-keys.

When the machine is at rest, the spring 0 bears the middle of the connecting-wire o 0 down toward itself.

Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the shears d, looking from the front of the machine.

Fig. 4 shows details, A, B, C, D, and E, of the operation of the paper-clips t, attached to the knee-levers r, the operation of which, in moving forward the paper ribbons, is hereinafter fully explained.

I will now describe the manner in which the subject-matter is composed and attached to the elastic band 10: v c v v are printed ribbons entering the machine. The reels containing these are placed at any convenient positions behind the machine. These ribbons are passed under their respective clips t, and then through the curved channels b b, and up toward the shears d, where they come close together, like the leaves of a book.

I would here observe that, to prevent too much crowding in the drawing, only a few of these ribbon-channels are shown; but there is one for each and every key.

Each piece of ribboned paper is printed with some letter of the alphabet, figure, &c., repeated at short intervals throughout its extent, after the manner shown by the letter 0, Fig. 5, and contiguous to each letter is a small punched hole, for the purpose of receiving the pointer of the clip t. Now, when any letter is required, I depress the key a, Fig. 2, bringing forward the connecting-wire o, and movin g the clip-lever 1' forward from stop :0, where it is held by spring still it strikes stop 40*. In doing this the ribboned paper has moved ahead two spaces, and passed one letter between and just beyond the shears. The spring 10 now comes into action, and, although cliplever v has finished its movement, this spring allows the key a. to be pressed down farther, this being for the purpose of depressing the bar it of the cut-01f lever 17, which closes the shears d, cuts 011 the required letter from the ribboned paper, and attaches it to the elastic band w. When the letter has been detached, the lever r draws back the paper ribbon 2; one space, (one hole,) so that it is clear of the shears, and allows freedom for any of the others to be moved forward. When required again this ribbon 'v is moved, as before, forward two spaces, the letter detached, and it is then moved backward one space. These movements apply to all the ribbons, and are effected in the following manner: As will be seen from the details A, B, (J, D, and E, the clip t has a twist in its upper extremity, and, in combination with the spring-wire c, operates thus: The pointer 21, resting in one of the punched holes, in carrying the paper forward two spaces, passes under the spring 0, because, as seen in detail B, the clip-twist is lower in front than the spring. The spring under this action is forced out (see detail 0,) but drops back to position behind the clip t, when that has brought the paper forward, as seen in detail D. When the clip t returns on its backward motion, the spring a, being now behind and under, forces the clip t outward, raising the pointer 21 out of the hole, as in de tail E, thus allowing the paper to remain stationary until the clip passes the spring a, when it drops back toward the paper, and its pointer enters the next hole, by means of which it carries back the paper one space, and thus the ribboned paper is carried forward two spaces and back one.

But as each letter is attached to the elastic band, it is necessary to move the band the exact width of that letter. This is accomplished in the following manner: The feed cross-bar i (swung fromthe shaft 22') crosses behind all the key-levers z, and, as may be seen in Fig. 1, connects with and operates the feed-wheel e by a knee-joint. or friction-cant. This is somewhat similar to the. feed mechanism employed in some sewing-machines, excepting that the motion is given to the wheel 0 by the spring m on the release. or backward movement of the bar t. The; reason for moving the feed during theback motion of aikey is that the letter is out off and attached atthe end of the forward motion, and no feeding could be done until this is accomplished and the length of the feed ascertained by the letter attached.

As will be understood, the feed is required to be longer for an m or a w thanfor an i or an 1! To. regulate this the: bar 1; is set-screwed opposite. each key-lever, correspondingly to the letter it represents; t11l1St116 swing of the bar 2', and,,ofcourse, the feed-crank l, is greater for an 111 than for an .i.

I may here state that it is immaterial which way the elastic band feeds-either in the direction of the arrow, or in an opposite direction- In the one case the ribboned paper is inserted underneath the prior cut-01f letter, and

then detached; in the, other case the piecesare overlapped and detached.

Any adhesive substance may be used on the band; or upon the ribboned paper gum may be used, either over the entire surface or on a portion equally contiguous to each letter. A slow-drying adhesive substanceis, preferable for the elastic band.

The letters upon the keys may be arranged in any convenient manner.

Having now giventhe general-detailsof the working of the machine, I now add explanations of theenlarged drawings, Figs. 5,6,. 7, and 8, for the better explanation of some contrivances, and more, in; detail than could be givenin Figs, 1, 2, and 3. Fig. 5,- is an en larged view of thecut-off and feed mechanism. Fig. 6 is a front view of Fig, 5, and corre sponds to Fig. 3. Fig. 7 is a top. or plan view, corresponding to Fig.1, and as. in that, so in this, the table is broken. to: show themechanism underneath. Fig. 8 is an. enlarged view of the upper portion of; the clip-frame 5.. In Fig. 5, d is the shears, d being the other out- I ter thereof,.but also-answering, in conjunction with 12, as a guide to conduct the paper ribbonsinto the opening. of the shears d. Fig. 13 is the back of the sticking-pad. Iii-Fig.6 a side view of the sticking-pad 13is shown, in part, by a double-dotted line, and, as.- seen, this pad works upon the same, center-bearing as the shears d, and a spring, 15, is attached to it for the purpose of bringing it forward. In Fig. 7 there is a top=view of this sticking-pad, and projecting fromit there be observed a vertical pin, 29, which lies against thehorizontal pin 30- attached to the shears d, thus keeping back the sticking-pad 13, excepting Fig. 5 shows how the shears are worked.

.nection with the shears.

tached to the cross-bar h, (seen in Figs. 1 and 2,) underlying all the keys, and when any key lever opposite.

when the shears close. In Fig. 7 the elastic band enters the machine from w, having been previously coated with an adhesive substance, preferably a slow-drying one, as by the admixture of a saccharine substance. The band passes around the guide-wheel 18 and the band-wheelj. per is moved forward, as seen in this figure, two spaces, till it reaches the farther side of the stickingpad 13, then comes the operation of cutting off the letter. The shears d close toward 01 and are accompanied by the sticking-pad 13, because the latter, being released by the pin 30, is brought forward by the spring 15, Fig. 6. Now the pad strikes the end of the projected ribboned paper and presses it against the adhesive substance on the elastic band 10, when the shear d completes its movement and cuts off the piece, so that the end of the ribboned paper is stuck to the band, and

. held there until the letter is cut off. Not until the shear d returns clear from the cut-off piece does the pin 30 meet the pin 29 and raise the sticking-pad from the band. A reference to 17 is a lever, 26 its fulcrum, and 19 is a pin-con- The wire 9 is atis depressed, the wire 9, being pulled down,

?raises the shear end of the lever 19, and closes the shears. In Fig. 7 none of the paper-chann'els are shown, but simply the protruding ends of the paper-ribbons where they come together one space from and in front of the shears d. This space refers to those portions of the ribboned paper between the punched holes there- .111. and front view of the vertical portions of the Figs. 5 and 6. respectively, show the side key-levers z z z but Fig. 7, being a top or plan View, shows, in addition, the horizontal portionof these keylevers, less the keys.

Now, as appears in the three Figs. 5, 6, and 7, opposite the vertical portion of these keylevers is the cross feed bar 2'. having a setscrew opposite each key-lever, for the purpose,

as already explained, of determining the length of the feed. Now note that all the keylevers have the same length of stroke; there- .fore, the farther a set-screw is inserted in the bar i up toward any key-lever, the greater movement has the bard forward when that the setting of every set-screw is regulated to correspond with the length of feedstroke required by the letter represented on the key- As may be readily understood from Fig. 7, any forward movement produced upon thefeed-bar i produces abackward move- 'ment upon the friction-cam or knee-joint n, at tached to the lever l; but, owing to the setting or inclination of n upon the circumference of the feed-wheel e, and more particularly the op- N ow, when a ribboned paposition effected by the second friction-cam or knee-joint M, the feed-wheel e is not moved in this backward direction. However, upon the release of the fingering-key, and the consequent freeing of the feed cross-bar i, the spring at m (shown fully in Fig. 1) immediately moves forward the feed-wheel 0, because then the setting of the friction-cam n causes it to bind upon the feed-wheel. The bandwheel j is attached to the feed-wheel e, and around the former is the elastic band w.

The friction-cam 19, of course, does not bind -upon the feed-wheel in its movement; but

only acts as a check to prevent any back movement. Both cams are held to their places by springs. By these devices, and in the manner explained, is the feeding transmitted to the elastic hand during the back motion or release of fingering-keys, which is necessary, as hereinbefore explained, because the paper ribbon is driven forward, attached, and cut off during the forward motion.

To combine lightness in operating the machine, the key-levers z z z, the clip-levers 1' 'r, the cut-01'1" and feed-bars h and i, as also their centered connections, are preferably made of a light tough wood. The setting-screws in the various cross-bars are inserted in a zigzag manner, to combine strength and particularly facility in wrenching them. The elastic band, after the subject-matter has been attached to it, is conducted (as seen in Figs. 1 and 6 more particularly) in the front of the composer or operator upon the machine.

Fig. 8 is an enlarged View of the upper portion of the clip-frame 5, and shows how the ribboned paper is passed into the frame between thin metal folded guides 17 and 38, and

the thin metal plate behind, to which they are attached. A horizontal slot, 41, is, however, left, in which reciprocates the pointer 21 in the punched holes of the ribboned paper. In its forward motion the clip t passes under the spring 0, but in coming back it passes over it, for the purpose already explained in details A, B, C, D, and E. 23 is a groove into which the frame 5 is slid, and by this contrivance any frame may be readily removed for examination and adjustment without interfering in any way with the other frames. Observe that in Fig. 1 the paper-channels are curved, in order to carry their ribbons up to a central point in front of the shears. This must necessarily result in various lengths of the channels, and therefore this inequality of lengths will bring some of the last letters of the paper ribbons ahead of and some behind the proper point or distance from the shears. In order to secure a proper workin g of the machine, every last letter must come up to the same point. This is regulated by the ranges of set screws 14 and 14", Fig. 2, by which the frames 5 are set backward or forward in the grooves until the last letters are brought in line.

As a compensating contrivance for lengthening or shortening the connecting-wire 0, Fig. 2, to accommodate the regulation of the clip-frames, immediately before referred to, a number of holes are drilled in the metal ferrule 35, so that the end of the connecting-wire 0 may be hooked in at the proper length. The punched holes in the strips of ribboned paper are, as may be readily supposed, for the purpose of feeding the paper toward and between the shears with greater exactness and certainty than could be done by simple pressureclips. Of course notchings in the edge of the paper would answer the same purpose.

The manner of printing and punching, and the machinery for doing it at one operation, I describe and make the subject of a special application.

I may remark here that instead of the clastic band being coated with an adhesive substance, the ribboned paper may be gummed either all over or in part, in conjunction with each letter, and the elastic band wetted.

What I claim in my invention is as follows:

1. The combination of the fingering-keys a a a with the clip-lever r by the connectingwire 0 and with the shears d and pad 13, whereby the letters are cut from the ribbons and attached to the gummed elastic band, substantially as described, and for the purposes specified.

2. The combination of a fingering-key, a, the connecting-wire 0, the clip-lever r, and the paper clip t, substantially as described, and for the object set forth.

3. The combination of the paper-clip t, its pointer 21, and the fixed spring a, substantially as described, and for the purposes set forth and specified.

4. The combination of the converging channels b b b, the shears d, the pad 13, and the elastic band 10, substantially as described, and for the purposes set forth.

5. The combination of the fingering-keys a a a with the spring p, the cut-off cross-bar h, the connecting-wire g, the cut-off lever 17, and the shears d, substantially as described, and for the purposes specified.

6. The combination of the shears d with the sticking-pad 13 and the elastic band, coated with an adhesive substance, substantially as described, and for the purposes specified.

7. The cross feed bar 1', having set-screws therein, the connectin g-rod k, and the frictioncam or knee-joint n, combined with the feedwheel 6, the band-pulley j, carrying the elastic band w, substantially as described, and for the purposes specified.

8. The fin gerin g-keys an a and the attached levers z z 2, combined with the cross-feed bar 5, graduated for various feeds, substantially as described, and the friction-cams or kneejoints n and n, operating on a smooth surface, so as to communicate the various feeds, for the purpose specified, to the elastic band w.

9. The combination of the clip-frames 5 5 with the set of guides 23 and the ranges of In testimony that I claim the foregoing I set-screws 1 1 and 14*, substantially as dehave hereunto set my hand this 10th day of scribed, and for the purposes specified. November, 1876.

10. The combination of the guiding-wheel 18, the elastic band w, and the band-wheelj GEORGE PRINGLE DRUMMOND. with the guides d and 12, substantially as described, and for the purpose specified, of guid- Witnesses: ing the elastic band and ribboned paper to- JOHN GRIST, ward one another. HENRY GRIsT. 

